Penrith were the first to score in the sixth minute when Bryce Cartwright picked up a loose Raiders ball and ran 80 metres to plant it under the uprights.

Whilst the Raiders soon equalised with their own converted try, the Panthers made it 10-6 in the 23rd minute when Tyrone Peachey took a Cartwright offload from close range and burrowed his way over the line.

A penalty conversion to Jamie Soward extended it to 12-6 at half time.

Soon after the resumption a deft stab kick from Matt Moylan only metres out from the line weaved through the defensive line with Peta Hiku winning the race to ball. Soward’s conversion pushed it to a 12 point lead with around 25 minutes remaining.

However two Canberra converted tries had tied it up at 18-all with five minutes remaining.

With 1 minute 10 seconds remaining, Peter Wallace drilled a field goal from 25 metres out to edge ahead by 1, with the Panthers running down the clock to record a victory by the barest of margins.